Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Essay

Organizational behavior is the study and application of knowledge about people or groups of people in an organization. It focuses on what people do and why they do it with aim of improving what they do. Since an organization is a collection of people working together in an organized social structure to achieve a common goal, application of theories and concepts of human behavior is imperative to attain the goals of organizations. Organizational behavior covers areas such as human behavior, leadership in an organization, teams, communications, employee relations etc. Clark, 2008). A study of the organization’s behavior helps the management to succeed in business opportunities. Human resource management is a strategic approach to the management of employees in an organization. It includes activities such as planning, selection, recruitment and maintaining employees. To sustain high performing employees, ensuring safe working environments and compliance to rules and regulations in an organization are some of the main objectives of human resource management. These objectives can only be attained through efficient analyses of the employees’ behaviors. Therefore, when human resource management and organization behavior blend together in an organization, they help to bring about strong and active workforce which help the organization meet its strategic goals. Effective policy development in human resources would help management to establish a strong workforce and explore untapped resources and strategies that would improve the organization performance. In order to employ effective policies, the management should make best decisions in a timely manner in a given situation. Human resource managers should be involved in making strategic decisions of the organization such as being informed on the long term plans of the strategic management. To amicably resolve personnel issues and find appropriate solutions to these issues, the management should have proper human resource policies. The policies should incorporate fresh ideas that reflect current situation in the organizations and the current business world in general. Human resources policies ensure that employees receive equal treatment in a wide range of employment issues and in legal matters incase they arise. To effectively develop human resource in any organization, it is necessary to have policies on employees’ benefits such as educational assistance, retirement benefits, health care and medical benefits etc. Another factor to consider when formulating the policies is the safety, health and security of the employees. Issues such as workplace violence, drugs, crisis management, and diseases like HIV/AIDS should be addressed in policy development. In addition it is important to consider employees relations which entail dispute resolutions and grievances, employee’s privacy, employee’s performance management, discipline and the conduct of employees in the organization. Selection, recruitment and placement of employees is a fundamental function in the human resource management. Discrimination in terms of race, religion, sex or in any form should be discouraged in the hiring and recruitment process. In order to improve employees’ skills and their efficiency, there should be a policy on employee training and development. In conclusion, effective policies should seek to motivate employees whereby they feel comfortable and satisfied hence improve their performance. The human resource should operate in a flexible environment. For instance, employees can operate in shifts where different people start and end their workday at different time. The organization should adopt technologies that would enable the employees to work outside the workplace. A study in organizational behavior shows that different people get motivated in different ways and can perform better under different circumstances. The management should therefore, customize their way of rewarding employees to their particular preferences (Marques, 2007).